StreamCo, the Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media joint venture, has revealed its subscription video on demand service will operate under the brand name of Stan.As the local arrival of Netfix looms, StreamCo today got on the front foot, announcing it has secured the rights for Breaking Bad along with first-run rights to Breaking Bad’s prequel Better Call Saul.
An official launch date has yet to be locked in, although Better Call Saul’s mid-February release next year provides some indication of a likely time-frame within which the service will be up and running.
While pricing has yet to be confirmed, Fairfax Media has reported Stan is expected to cost around $10 a month.
Nick Forward, StreamCo content and product director, stated further details of Stan’s line-up will be revealed soon.
“We look forward to revealing the rest of our content line-up in the coming weeks, including more fantastic first-run series and awesome exclusives,” Forward stated.
Stan will offer “unlimited access to thousands of hours of entertainment, with first-run exclusives, award-winning TV shows, classic catalogue, blockbuster movies and an exciting slate of kids content”, according to a media statement announcing the service.
The Australian digital media market is heating up ahead of Netflix’s expected arrival next year, with online video growing at pace and media players jockeying for position.
The StreamCo joint venture was originally announced in August of this year, with Nine and Fairfax each holding a 50 per cent stake.
At the time it was advised Nine and Fairfax had agreed to commit up to $50 million each to the venture over a multi-year period, including expenditure on marketing and advertising.
